Iodine has atomic number 53 with a symbol I, is a solid nonmetallic element of the Halogen family. Group VIIA in the periodic table, a group that includes Flourine, Chlorine, and Bromine. At room temperature iodine is a lustrous, blue black, crystalline solid of atomic weight 126.9045. Iodine is the least water soluble halogen, but it dissolves readily in alcohol, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, and benzene. Iodine is poisonous, but as a trace element it is essential to plant and animal growth. In higher mammals it is concentrated in the Thyroid gland and is involved in the synthesis of thyroxine and other biochemicals that grown metabolic activities. Besides affecting growth, iodine deficiency can also cause goiter, so iodine salts are added to table salts in regions where iodine levels are low. History Iodine was first observed in 1811 by a French saltpeter manufacture, Bernard Desormes and Nicholas Clement confirmed its nature and announced the discovery of the new element, ...